A misleading title there. I was expecting a clip of some Somali kids being beaten up, Marc! Any chance of a transcript of the video?

Does your resolution for the new year include increasing your output on this site, saaxib? Starting as we mean to go on miya? Wishing you a stable new year (happy is overrated).

^^ Did you go to both sides of the mosque? (Did you cry?)

^^ That explains the hat there!

^^ You took these photos? Now why did you not do something similar when you went to Somaliland? Badow waaxid...

Heh. I know. When you try to stay out of the way of one of those vans as it races towards you, you really hav eto stick closly to the wall and hope the van's mirror does not catch you. The Syrian accent is like Operah music. They never talk, they sing.

^^ I saw it but my friends (in their infinite Somali hospitality) would not hear of me staying in a hotel whilst they were in town. I think they worried about what I'd get up to if left on my own. Did you take a walk in the Christian neighbourhood and its very narrow alleyways? When I went there I accidentally walked into the middle of a scene from a well-known Syrian show (Bab El Xaara). The director was livid. It's a beautiful country with very friendly people.

Sounds great. How much baqsheesh did you have cough up?

Was it a package holiday?

^^ I am actually. I spent the last three nights baby-bloody-sitting. But I wont go out. I shall see the new year begin right in the middle of my living room (probably with my laptop on).

^^ You missed the unique experience of watching a champion's league game in one of their cafe's, saaxib. Even the waiters get carried away with the emotions and refuse to serve you if you’re not a fan of their team. ps Did you happen to drive past cesh-el-warwar? You know, those houses carved in the middle of the mountain! It's a work of art I tell you, a work of art.

^^ Stop showing off, Miss

^^ AMIIIIN. (Love the diplomatic reply there by the way).

^^ What normal, hip and cool child would want to have a father figure to emulate? At any rate, I think Northerner is exaggerating a little. There aren't as many of these guys as there used to be in the past. Most nowadays are out there taking care of business.

^^ I am actually. Years of practise with other people's kids. But it is still a headache...

^^ There are NINE children under the age of ten at home. (Even worse, I'll have to babysit them the minute I get home from work. One of my sister's in law is getting married tonight).

^^ Yes

^^ Did you have a look at the backs of their necks? Burn marks all over the place, saaxib! Incidentally, this reminds me of another observation I made about Somali women's hair. When they wash it, some of the most powerful knots known to man start forming. Oh, The agony of combing that hair has to be seen to be believed! That QAC QAC sound is usually heard from miles away and as you get closer to the sound whilst assuming it's some old biddy with a dodgy hip doing some aerobics, you frightfully discover that it is not! It's only cynical, Val, Lazy or Serenity combing their own hair. Every Somali house has its fair share of toothless combs. (I am bored beyond recognition today).

^^ Get out the way, woman. Somali songs and poetry sure don't paint women's bodies as ugly. They explicitly describe every nook and cranny and how beautiful they are. cambaruudka naasaha caaradaa madow iyo luquntaa cabaadhka le iyo cududaheediyo kubabkaa ...... Cynical, You're talking about a different kind of Hijab wearing woman to the one people on this thread mean. They are talking about the ideal Hijabi whilst you're talking about tight jeans, figure hugging top and tongue stud wearing hijaabi! As for the subject matter, I think people are unfairly merging two topics into one! Beauty (modelling) on the one hand and Hijab on the other! Now, if beauty is measured by the criteria applied to modelling, then even hijaabi's can be classed as and are beautiful. Do you have a great bone structure? Great eyes? Lovely nose? High cheekbones? Do you look good in a jilbaab? Are you of an acceptable height? If the answer to all these questions is YES then, rejoice my dear, you are as pretty as a model (hijab or no hijab). You fit the criteria and in the eyes of fashion connoisseurs you are indeed pretty. Of course, for the average Faarax, beauty need not be measured along these lines. Some think round girls are pretty (with or without their hijab) and some think short girls are pretty (with or without their hijab). It is a matter of taste after all and it is, sadly some would say, in the eye of the beholder. When people refer to the Hijab as being beautiful they are probably using the word beauty in its original meaning. That which gives pleasure to the senses! Music is beautiful, roses are beautiful, ugly and wrinkled newborn babies are beautiful! The Hijab too is beautiful. All are considered beautiful for different reasons. In the case of the Hijab, it could be because of the associated images one gets when seeing a girl wearing a Hijab; she's honourable, virtuous and pure (or at least she should be). Therefore, she's beautiful! However, if like me, you grew up in a place where the Hijab was the norm and you were conditioned to see beyond all this purity mumbo jumbo, then the idea of the Hijab would remain beautiful to you (but only in a faraway intangible sense). The idea of a WOMAN wearing the hijab will make no much difference to you, you will still hope for a gust of wind to blow so that you can get a glimpse of the goodies hidden under that Hijab (and here I am talking of the Hijab in its fullest sense and not merely the head cover). Or you would still loiter around waiting for the Hijab wearing woman to get into a car so that you catch a glimpse of her smooth lower legs as she embarks. The beauty of a Hijabi takes on a totally different meaning then. From an animalistic, failing to lower the gaze, red-blooded male's point of view there is no such thing as an ugly woman. You are all a bloody temptation, damn you.

^^ war qaar ba bahashan madaxiisa saaran comaamad moodaya We're here to help.

^^ In the first photo, the man standing next to her is not her father (just in case someone makes that mistake). This is her father: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

^^ The days of having a woman Prime Minster in Pakistan were long gone, saaxib. One has to point the finger at the only group that openly threatned to kill her, Tora Bora that way >>>>>

I have been hot and bothered about faith issues. Only not in ways you would approve of. Millions of people have disparaged Islam throughout the ages and millions more will carry on doing so. They insult the prophet, the Koran and all manner of Islamic traditions. But, have they managed to obliterate Islam itself? Topics like the one causing you to get hot under the collar are not the first of their kind, walaal. They will not be the last either. But do they matter? To me, the author does not matter. Those replying to him/ her matter more. Every time you get angry because some simpleton insulted Islam you put yourself in a position where you stand to damage your own faith. Have you ever met someone who is rational and angry both at the same time? Surely you're either one or the other! If you allow his words to upset you then you're already at a disadvantage and only Allah knows what you'll do to quench this anger of yours. The more you encounter such people, the angrier you become and the more your reaction turns into a habit (like Umu Z's Jihad argument). How do you know that in the midst of this anger of yours you don't overstep the mark and commit something that is Un-Islamic (just so you can teach this little infidel a lesson)? Is it not better to turn such attacks on their heads and use them as an opportunity to highlight the virtues of your faith rather than engage in a pointless argument with a nobody? Blind rage is exactly what it is, blind!

Originally posted by Laba_Xiniinyood: ^^ Quite the contrary infact - Bhutto was leading the election race with majority of the population in her favour. Though it would not appear to be in Musharraf's advantage to assassinate her, yet her death indicates a clear victory for his party. It is also imperative to state that she was killed before the explosion by a gunman. How could it be a clear victory by his party when HE is accused of killing her? Surely that would mean most of her supporters will stick with their own Party and vote for her replacement rather than voting for the president's party! Her death is a disaster for Musharraf's government.